There was no way this photograph was going to work. I was pointed in the opposite direction, the camera secured to the top of my tripod, set to make a landscape image that had nothing to do with birds. Suddenly this flock flew toward me and as quickly as I could I took the camera off the tripod, aimed, and fired away. Knowing this was handheld with a long lens, I assumed the chances of success were about zero. I was shocked when I discovered the camera had made a reasonable exposure and had auto-focused perfectly. The "Dutch angle" was not purposeful on my part, but I think actually improves the sense of motion and flight of this group of birds. Sometimes the best tool we have is luck.